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Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Letter of the Day: June 2

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 1515

June 2, 1896

Lieut. J. Hamilton Stone,
Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

My dear Doctor:

I sent you a telegram this morning concerning the culture received late last evening. Carroll plated at once, and it requires only a glance at the colonies to state positively that this is not anthrax.

I will to-morrow inoculate a guinea pig with a 48-hour old culture in bouillon.

Don’t you think it a little risky to draw conclusions from a culture made with dried sheep’s blood which had been sent to you unless this blood had been taken with every known precaution to avoid contamination? One should exercise great care in a matter of this kind before giving a positive opinion. If I can ascertain what the organism is, or if it has pathogenic effects, I will let you know to-morrow. Very sincerely yours,

Walter Reed
Surgeon, U.S. Army

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